Person of Interest

Network TV at its most unsatisfying.

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Originally Posted by JPL 

does anyone get the feeling that Jim Caviezel came off like he is in desperate need of some coffee? The monotone way he was acting was a bit of a buzz kill.

I liked Caviezel for the first time ever, almost bought him as Bryan Mills lite. Was fun when he was doing his best scary voice like in the back of the car with the crooked copper (the also promising Kevin Chapman). His cruel smile was quite good too. Emerson was on autopilot, not a bad thing really, just an observation.

Like, don't love... yet. Feels like a modern Equivalent to The Equalizer, so you'll probably never catch me being too harsh on the show. Hope it has some decent storylines to keep me watching.

I thought it was a really well done pilot. In forty minutes they introduced the premise, the characters, some backstory, and presented a decent first case.

I don't care for "case of the week" shows much, but I'll give this a go. 

I actually really enjoyed the show.  The premise is interesting, and the action in the show was pretty good.  I liked all the stuff with the crooked cop that Caviezel co-opted into working for him, and the twist in the story was good.  That scene near the elevator where Caviezel kept that DA from getting assassinated was extremely well done too.

I'm thinking this one has some legs and will probably stick around for a while.

From the Roger Ebert Movie Glossary: "Automatic Vest Display: A character who has mysteriously survived being shot at point-blank range always immediately unbuttons his shirt to reveal his bulletproof vest, usually only to himself"

Do movies and TV shows really still do this in 2011?

Just for fun they should have had either Ben or Goodwin mention a "tail section" during their conversation. Probably won't be sticking with this show, but I wish it well.

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Originally Posted by Disciple_72 

 

From the Roger Ebert Movie Glossary: "Automatic Vest Display: A character who has mysteriously survived being shot at point-blank range always immediately unbuttons his shirt to reveal his bulletproof vest, usually only to himself"

 

Do movies and TV shows really still do this in 2011?

It's kinda required if you don't want a significant portion of your audience thinking you've written a near-terminator villain.

Having Goodwin playing not-Ben's best friend was amusing. I do like that they're weaving in a little backstory and a little suspicion between the leads.

I could've sworn not-Ben had bodyguards? They sure would've come in handy!

I'm not watching any other new network shows, so I'll keep with it for now.

If they just wanted Caviezel to slow the bad guy down instead of kill him during that fight, there are all sorts of ways they could have achieved that without the ancient "he got shot in the chest... but he was wearing a vest!!!" gag. They were trying to surprise us.

These guys may have watched Taken a couple dozen times, but other than that their action movie cred is questionable in my opinion. Beyond any specific issues, the action scenes just have a general air of lameness about them. It's too bad because I kind of like Caviezel here, Emerson is always worth watching, and the central concept is solid.

There's a coldness to Caviezel that would make him playing a bad guy very interesting.

I want to love this but right now I'm only on the "like a bit, I guess" train. The moments Caviezel turns badass or cocky make me wish he was awake more often. The show seems very... sleepy, currently.

I know there's not a ton of interest (ha!) for this show here, but I have to say, the last few episodes have consistently ramped up in quality. They've greatly increased the prominence of the serial aspects, and given their main characters some fun scenes together.

Emerson is just destroying it in this. Even his throwaway lines usually have sardonic twist.

This last episode with Caviezal wounded and Emerson's nebbish nerd trying to pick up the legwork slack was the best of the series by far. The "case" was nothing special, but the character interplay was terrific.

"If he comes at you, take these two fingers and jam them into his eye socket."

"Poke him in the eye? THAT'S your tactic?!?"

"No, that's YOUR tactic."

"You could also take your thumb and gouge his eye until you hit his brain - "

"Please stop."

Emerson getting tough guy Caviezal a foam donut to aid his recovering was cute. "You'll thank me later!" It also subtly referenced that with his bum leg he likely went through something similar. Along with the flashbacks to "Ben" and the guy he killed when they were both on the LOST island, they're building an interesting backstory into what is basically a procedural.

It's good enough to keep me watching.

I liked the "that's what we do" bit. It looks like they might explore the workings of the computer more too.

I'm going to keep saying it, so that when some of you finally check the show out or catch up via DVD, you will recognize: This has turned out to be a damn fun show. And one with a metric shit-ton of serial stories:

1) What exactly happened to Finch's partner and why Finch is in hiding

2) What exactly happened to Reese's partner and why the CIA wants Reese dead instead of arrested

3) Who Finch actually is

4) The vengeful son of a mobster is taking over organized crime in NY

5) The CIA is running drugs to fund the war on terror

6) A conspiracy cabal of crooked cops is working with/for organized crime

7) A mystery female hacker is assassinating politicians and is expert enough to find and outsmart Finch, the guy who created the machine that predicts future crimes

8) That Machine is gaining a form of sentience and acting to protect itself, even if that means destroying its creator and his allies

And I'm skipping over a lot, like the arcs of the dirty cop and the clean cop, who have both changed paths dramatically already.

It would've been easy to dismiss this show as yet another CBS procedural from its pilot. But look at that description above - it's crazy! This really is "Batman - The Series"! 

This show is very much like Batman/GCPD without the cape and cowl. For that, it's probably the best of the post-Lost Bad Robot shows. Solid entertaining stuff.

It's possible we've still got this thing on the DVR-- suggestions as to where to resume? I think I bailed around ep 9 or 10, and I'd be surprised to learn that it did a complete 180 the following week.

Probably the very next episode. It just aired #15, and it's been on a good roll for a while now. There's some pretty big serial elements in those episodes that I didn't give away above.

I wouldn't say it ever did a "180", so if you actively disliked it, you probably still will. But it's been building steam and layering depth pretty consistently to the point where now it feels like a serial with procedural elements instead of the other way around.

You definitely don't want to skip ahead, they started the CIA arc around 1x09/1x10, which has given a nice serialised boost. 

Last week's episode was all sorts of fantastic. Really sold it well. Broke my heart to see Fusco's reaction when he had to fall back in with the crooked cops (though for the right reasons). The mythology is slowly building itself up to be something truly special. The CIA agents are particularly ruthless, something I quite enjoy. But of course, the amount of not giving a fuck Reese has is, well, biblical. Did I miss an episode? I thought Reese's wife died? Or was it someone else? Kinda surprised me when his ex showed up.

It's cheesy, but Reese's CIA partner had the best line with 'We don't walk in the dark, we are the dark.' It should be lame, but it works in context with the character and the story.

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Originally Posted by Doc Happenin 

Last week's episode was all sorts of fantastic. Really sold it well. Broke my heart to see Fusco's reaction when he had to fall back in with the crooked cops (though for the right reasons). The mythology is slowly building itself up to be something truly special. The CIA agents are particularly ruthless, something I quite enjoy. But of course, the amount of not giving a fuck Reese has is, well, biblical. Did I miss an episode? I thought Reese's wife died? Or was it someone else? Kinda surprised me when his ex showed up.

 

It's cheesy, but Reese's CIA partner had the best line with 'We don't walk in the dark, we are the dark.' It should be lame, but it works in context with the character and the story.

Yeah, I've actually watched every episode of this but hadn't contributed to the thread (sorry).  Last week was a really hard show though.  I mean, it's fair because that's who they've built Reese to be but it was hard to watch.  First Reese is given the warning that he may only have time to save 1 of them and he makes the decision to sacrifice Fusco.  Ultimately he did save him, but he did make that decision.  It was the right decision, and consistent with his character, and kudos to them for not "cheating" a way to let him save both without making a decision.  But still...harsh.

Then to save Fusco last second (I still want to know how he found them in the forest AND snuck up on them in a silent forest) and burn him like that.  It's the right move but you can't help but feel that Fusco has earned some amount of redemption.  Watching him come to the realization that Reese will never allow that to happen...ugh.

The show is getting better, or at least is weaving in enough interesting arcs that the format works for me.
 

Caviezel is definitely playing the anti-Jesus here. People don't change in his eyes, not for one single minute. For all the good Fusco has done, he's still a dirty cop, still only a means to an end in Reese's eyes. It's cold as hell inside the man's heart. I'm loving seeing the reasons why.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Happenin 

Caviezel is definitely playing the anti-Jesus here. People don't change in his eyes, not for one single minute. For all the good Fusco has done, he's still a dirty cop, still only a means to an end in Reese's eyes. It's cold as hell inside the man's heart. I'm loving seeing the reasons why.

Well, Fusco's working with them because they're holding evidence of his crookedness over his head from when he tried to get Reese killed. So I can see Reese's stance being, "Redemption is a little harder than doing what you're told."

I dig the utilitarianism though. Reese will save Fusco if there's nothing more important to do.

Stuff like not telling the two cops that they're working on the same team, and Reese investigating Finch behind his back are the added bits of texture that really expand the show's appeal for me. Information is power, and Reese isn't giving out one word more than he has to.

Not a great episode, and a weird ending tag like they're just hoping we still remember one of the major plot points.  While I did enjoy hiding the guy with the homeless people, the plot contrivance of him using his phone after being instructed not to do so is pretty played out.  Then the assassins actually go into the homeless area firing blindly rather than sneaking up and taking them both out?  And they all have laser scopes so it makes it easy for Reece to pick them out of the scattering crowd?

Plus, no Fusco.  That's an automatic minus.

I for one do remember that major plot point and was looking forward to seeing it pop up again. The man has his mitts in everything. Overall, not a great episode (and seems so much duller after the previous week's) but the show has earned a lot of good on account of the larger story, and I like how they tied this Case into the overall fabric. Plus, the more Friday Night Light's actors working, the better.

The ending giving us credit for remembering who Colantoni was almost made me check to verify that this show is on CBS.

So the return of Tio AND a couple of Sopranos vets? Sweet.

Really great "That guy/girl" casting on this show.

And I still believe somebody at CBS greenlit this show without watching it. It's so much more interesting than anything else they make.

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Originally Posted by Farsight 

So the return of Tio AND a couple of Sopranos vets? Sweet.

 

Really great "That guy/girl" casting on this show.

 

And I still believe somebody at CBS greenlit this show without watching it. It's so much more interesting than anything else they make.

I think you've sold me enough on this show to give the first season a shot when it hits DVD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farsight 

So the return of Tio AND a couple of Sopranos vets? Sweet.

 

Really great "That guy/girl" casting on this show.

 

And I still believe somebody at CBS greenlit this show without watching it. It's so much more interesting than anything else they make.

Finally caught up.  That was a great episode.  I love that supposedly taking out the big bad guy means absolutely nothing other than a change of scenery for him.  Poor Tio wasn't long for their show.

The scene where he coldly tells the two gangsters that they're cowardly and that's why he will kill both of them was cold, and awesome.

And now we get the sane cousin from the docks season of The Wire... best guest casting on TV goes to this show!

And it continues to amuse how a show initially dismissed as yet another procedural has to have the most ongoing storylines of ANY show on TV. Layer upon hidden agenda upon switcheroo upon foreboding last words upon person-left-for-dead.make the flashbacks and recurring characters and plots a hoot.

And the procedural stuff usually isn't bad either, since the show doesn't rely on the, "fake solution until the last-minute real solution" gimmick that the CSIs and House et al depend on so tediously. Tonight's bank robbery legitimately could've gone a half dozen different directions, which keeps thing engaging.

Agreed.  It's a fun show.  It's kinda interesting trying to figure out if the number is going to be victim or perpetrator.  It was also interesting that Reese and his partner were the ones who liberated "The Machine" from wherever they were.  I guess maybe it wasn't coincidence that Finch tracked him down?

So I guess the question is, were those Asian scientists the one who built the actual machine, or were they developing their own in secret and the government attacked them to retrieve stolen technology?

So far, the best stories have been with the flashbacks, the female Anti-Finch, and the Alias stuff.  The number of the week just isn't very interesting to me most of the time.

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Originally Posted by Simon West will kill Again 

Agreed.  It's a fun show.  It's kinda interesting trying to figure out if the number is going to be victim or perpetrator.  It was also interesting that Reese and his partner were the ones who liberated "The Machine" from wherever they were.  I guess maybe it wasn't coincidence that Finch tracked him down?

 

So I guess the question is, were those Asian scientists the one who built the actual machine, or were they developing their own in secret and the government attacked them to retrieve stolen technology?

This week's episode showed why Finch tracked Reese down. And it was extremely well done, again. Caviezal hasn't had a lot to do besides be badass, but he really sold the emotional depths that led to him being a homeless vagrant in the pilot.

As for the Machine, it's pretty firmly established that Finch developed it. And I didn't get the impression that the Chinese city was related. After all, it turned out the CIA handlers didn't even want anything from there - they just wanted Reese and his partner there so they could kill them both. They intended to blow up the very item they sent them in to retrieve. It seemed to me that the Chinese massacre was a Macguffin.

Tim from Justified gets to do more than toss a one-liner at Tim Olyphant and disappear!

I feel like a broken record until some of you track this show down on DVD and realize how awesome it is, but short version:

Most serial show on network TV. Best guest casting of any TV show. Best comic book series ever (that isn't actually based on a comic book).

And it looks like the shit will really hit the fan in the finale. Good times!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farsight 

Best guest casting of any TV show.

I didn't watch last night's show yet, but this 100x.  Whoever the casting director is, they're amazing.

Sadly, the imdb page isn't up-to-date, but as I recall we've seen multiple actors from The Sopranos, Justified, Veronica Mars, The Wire, Lost, Rescue Me, Breaking Bad... plus a ton of "that guy/gal"s. It's crazy how stacked with quality actors this show is, most of whom are only known to people who actually watch quality shows.

Plus Emerson is just killing it.

This is one of my favourite shows right now, along with Fringe.

Had my doubts at first, but Jim Cavizel plays a convincing badass.

Our awesome guest star for this week is... Amy Acker (still gorgeous)!

Kick-ass finale to a kick-ass season. They managed to provide some nice closure to nearly every one of their numerous dangling plot lines. And the stinger at the end was a pretty perfect way to tackle an angle they'd been hinting at all season. 

This is legitimately the best show on network TV.

Finally caught up.  That was my favorite episode of the season.  Great usage of so many things they'd built on this season.  They (potentially) finished the HR storyline but opened up a brand new storyline that already has many interesting directions it can go (and the potential to shed a lot more light on Finch's past).  They touched on but wisely kept a number of their longer term storylines in the air to keep it going next season.

All in all it was a very impressive first season.  I really only tuned in the first week because the premise seemed vaguely amusing and I wanted to see Emerson doing something other than Ben Linus.  I'm glad I did.